Ray Opticall Prediction of Outdoor and Indoor

Coverage in Urban Macro- and Micro-Cells

Dieter J. Clichon, Torsten C . Becker, Martin Dottling
[Jniversity of Karlsruhe
Institut fur Hochstfrequenztechnik und Elektronik (IHE)
Kaisers& 12, D-76128 Karlsruhe, Germany
Phone: +49 721 966 1578, Fax: t 4 9 721 691865, e-mail: ihe@ihewap.etec.uni-karlsruhe.de

detail in [2] while a verification by measurements can be

found also in [3]. Situation 'd' depicts the case of indoor
coverage by either macro- or micro-cell outdoor base
stations.

Abstract

--- A new approach for the prediction of path

loss and channel impullse response of radio links with building penetration is presented. The wave propagation prediction is based on ray-tracing algorithms implementled in the
IHE- URBAN-MICRO model, which has already been successfully applied to urban micro- and macro-cells. A brief
description of this model is given and co~nparisonswith
path loss measurements are shown. The extensicln of the
IHE- URBAN-MICRO model for indoor receiver locations,
resulting in the new model IHE-URBAN-MICRO-I, is presented. Both models use vector oriented building data and
raster based topography data. Arbitrary outdoor base station
heights can be handled by the models, which is a very important feature from a practical point of view.

I. INTRODUCTION
Reliable propagation simulations are absolutely necessary
for an efficient usage of the frequency spectrum. Therefor, at
the Institut f u r Hochstjirequenztechnik und Elektronik (IHE)
at the University of Karlsruhe, several ray olptical propagation models for rural, urban, and indoor environments have
been developed [I]. Modern radio systems, like Digilal Mobile Radio, PCN, DECT, Wireless LANs etc., arc established in the UHF up to EHF bands. Path loss prediction and
furthermore wide band iradio channel parameter estimation are
required for planning purposes. Hence, ray optical propagation modeling approaches have been used, which are justified since the wavelength is small with respect to the details
of the physical environment which are necessarily regarded.

In
Fig. 1: Definition of a propagation situation.
In Sec. I1 a brief description of the comprehensive I H E URBAN-MICRO propagation model [l], [2], [4] which is
exclusively applicable to outdoor radio links in both microcells as well as urban macro-cells (Fig.la/b), is given. Outdoor measurements are presented in Sec. 111.
However a further important aspect of radio network planning in urban area is the estimation of indoor coverage by
outdoor base stations as shown by situation 'd' in Fig.1.
Subscribers are very interested whether they have coverage or
not within buildings. Network operators with intention to
improve indoor coverage have to calculate the expected costs
due to additional base stations. Questions are raising whether
additional outdoor base stations, indoor base stations, or
wall mounted transceivers are the most cost effective solution to achieve an indoor coverage improvement. Of course,

An overview of the different propagation situations with

respect to the cell size as distinguished iin this p,aper is
shown in Fig.1. In case of base station height well above
average roof-top, a so called macro-cell is generated (Fig.la),
where over-roof-top propagation paths are often the dominant ones. Micro-cell situations occur if the base station
height is well below average roof-top with predominant
propagation in street-camyons and around buildings (Fig. 1b).
Pico-cellular indoor propagation with both transmitter and
receiver inside the building (Fig.lc) is not part of this paper;
the corresponding model IHE- URBAN-PIC01 is described in

0-7803-3157-5/96 $5.00 0 1996 IEEE

the solution depends particularly on the build-up structure

(building category and height, street widths, etc.) of the

urban area.

41

closed polygons; latter one is called building vector data

base. Absolute roof-top height with respect to sea level and
building category are assigned to each polygon. Building
inner courts or higher parts of a building are represented by
interior polygons, which have to be completely within a
building shape defining polygon, as depicted in Fig.2.

Several publications of empirical investigations of building

penetration losses can be found in literature, e.g. [5]-[7].
Loss factors for typical exterior walls, interior walls, and
ceilings are obtained by measurements. A very simple form
of indoor coverage prediction is based on the outdoor fieldstrength level, calculated by averaging the fieldstrength
around the building at about 2 m above street level. For
each Tx(transmitter)-Rx(receiver) radio link the number of
penetrated walls and ceilings is determined. The additional
path loss Lp (penetration loss) is calculated according to (1).
Lp/dB=mLF+nLwi+Lw,
m:

number of floors between Tx and Rx

LF:
n:

floor correction factor (dB)

number of interior walls between Tx and Rx

(1)

Lwi: internal wall loss factor (dB)

Lw,:

external wall loss factor (dB)

The indoor fieldstrength level Ei at Rx is:

Ei(m,n)/dBpVm-' =E, - L p ( m , n ) + m G H
E,:

Fig.2:

(2)

average outdoor fieldstrength level at ground

floor height (dBpV/m)
height gain per floor (dB)

Pixel (grey area) and vector oriented (building shape

lines) building data.

Information about interior building details (walls, doors,

furniture, etc.) are usually not available from a terrain data
base covering an urban area with several km extension. To
include effects of interior building walls, assumptions have
to be made concerning number and categories as used for
indoor coverage prediction.

GH:
This simple approach for the prediction of indoor coverage
requires a lot of measurements to determine the loss factors
properly. The height gain depends on the build-up structure,
especially those of the neighboring buildings. Since the
entire propagation environment is reflected in the measurement results, the loss factors referring to a certain building
category cannot often be applied to another building. Thus a
site-specific prediction of outdoor propagation and building
penetration is demanded for improved indoor coverage
prediction,

B.

Propagation Modeling Approach

A fully automatic ray-tracing algorithm has been implemented for the extraction of the most dominant Tx-Rx
propagation paths. Therefor three submodels have been
introduced, each of them may be the important one in
different propagation situations. Fig.3 shows the principal
propagation paths in each submodel.

The IHE- URBAN-MICRO model has been extended for Rx

locations inside buildings. All regarded rays (see Sec. 11)
impinging on a building are further traced into that building
under consideration of incidence angle and exterior wall
category. This approach results in the new model called IHEURBAN-MICRO-I, which is introduced in Sec. TV.

3D-ray representing

11. THE IHE-URBAN-MICRO MODEL

A.

Urban TerrainData

The IHE-URBAN-MICRO model is able to use either grid

(pixel) data or vector oriented building data. Slightly undulated topography can also be considered for determination of
relative Tx and Rx heights with respect to roof-top. In Fig.2
the two building data formats are compared. If available, terrain height information (topography) is stored in a grid format with the same resolution a0 x a0 like the building grid
data base. The grey marked pixel represent buildings, while
the actual building shapes are more accurately described by

Fig. 3: IHE- URBAN-MICRO modeling approach.

Over-roof-top propagation within a vertical plane (containing Tx and Rx) is regarded in the 2D-VPM (Vertical
Plane Model), around building propagation within a transverse propagation plane is treated by the 2D-TPM (Trans-

42

verse Plane Model), and the 3D propagation via building and

ground scattering is considered in the 3 0 - M S M (Mu1tipath
Scattering Model), finally. Up to 16 Tx-Rx-rays (propagation paths) including multiple diffraction, single and
double reflection as well as combinations of propagation
mechanisms are regarded in the 2 0 - V P M , which is the
dominant submodel in case of macro-cell situations. Single
and double diffracted rarys are traced in the 2D-TPM', which
are often dominant especially in case of Tx heights below
roof-top level. The Uniform Geometrical Theory olf Diffraction (UTD) is appliied for diffraction calculation and a
modified Kirchhoff Method with scalar approximation is
used for surface scattering evaluation. A more detailed
discussion of the IHE- IJRBAN-MICRO modeling apiproach
can be found in [2] and [4].

Very good prediction results are obtained for a majority of

the total route. Investigations of the influence of the terrain
data format (raster or vector) on the prediction accuracy have
shown, that especially the 2 0 - TPM submodel results in
higher prediction errors when raster data are applied.
This is obviously seen at the measurement locations 400500 where a prediction error of up to 25 dB is exclusively
introduced by the 2 0 - T P M submodel due to the raster
approximation of building shapes. However, the 2 0 - VPM
submodel is quite independent on the terrain data format. The
German GSM network operator Mannesmann Mobilfunk
has already integrated the IHE- URBAN-MICRO propagation
software within its overall GSM network planning tool [8].
70

xn

111. VERIFICATION IN OUTDIOORS

Extensive macro- and micro-cell measurements have been

performed by the German D2-GSM network operator "Mannesmann Mobilfunk". Topographical terrain1 data, building
raster data and path loss measurement (947 MHz) dala from
Munich, Germany, have been supplied for comparison with
path loss predictions by the IHE- URBAN-MICRO model.
Results for a measurement route of 14 km length (see
Fig.4) are presented in Fig.5 and Fig.6 for Tx hieight of
13 m and 26 m, respectively; the Rx height is 2 ni.
Digital Raster Building Data of Munich, Germany

YO

1ol)

iin

23

120

a 130
140
1SO

160

IN) 2 w

300

400

500

h(K)

700

800

Yo0

Inno

I10

measurement location

Fig.5: Comparison with path loss measurements for a

base station height of 13 m, f = 947 MHz).

(Extension: 3 x 35 km2. resolution: 10 m)

70
80

YO

s 1W
2.
Lo

110

Lo

E
3

120

Z.

130
140
150

I60
0

100

200

3W

400

SIX)

600

700

ROO

YW)

I(XM

I1W

measurement location

Fig.6:

Building Height (m)

0

Fig.4:

10

20

30

Comparison with path loss measurements for a

base station height of 26 m, f = 947 MHz).

The restriction of considered rays to a vertical and a transverse propagation plane has been proved to be a reasonable
solution, as verified by measurements (955 MHz and
1845 MHz), which have been performed by the "Center for
PersonKommunikation" of the "Aalborg University" in a
test site located in downtown Aalborg. Fig.7 shows the
ground map of the Aalborg test site. The regarded area of
750 x 750 m2 has been digitized on an orthogonal ground
grid with a horizontal resolution of 12.5 x 12.5 m2. The

>40

Urban test area with Tx and measurement route.

43

corresponding building heights have been estimated with an

accuracy of about +3 m only, since no exact height data
have been available at that time. The test site is flat and the
building heights are fairly homogeneous (around 15 m) with
the exception of a few buildings, which are 40 m to 50 m
high. The transmitter is located at the top of the test site and
the measurement route of the mobile are marked by letters A
to M referring to Fig.7.

.................................
.
.
.

io

20

30

40

50

60

70

xn

YO

ion

I IO

120

130

measurement location

Fig.9

Fig.7

The path loss predictions are in relatively good agreement

with the measurements. Especially for the lower BS height
an excellent coincidence at street intersections along route LM is achieved (Fig.9), where around building paths are the
dominant one as included in the 2D-TPM. But at some receiver locations, e.g. along H-K, no rays have been determined, since only up to two diffraction processes are regarded for around building propagation, and only one single
building or ground reflected path is considered in the model.
In the near future, the IHE- URBAN-MICRO model will be
extended by multiple specularly reflected paths within the
transverse propagation plane.

Aalborg test site, Denmark, with transmitter

and measurement route of the mobile.

The marked driving routes A-B-C, D-E, F-G, H-K, and --M
correspond to the letters in Fig.8 and Fig.9. Field strength
values were recorded with 2.5 sampledm and an average for
each 10 m was stored, whereof the total path loss was
derived. The calculation of total path loss by the I H E URBAN-MICRO model is performed by incoherent superposition of all regarded transmission matrices, each representing one propagation path.

IV. INDOOR COVERAGE PREDICTION

A new approach for the evaluation of indoor coverage by
outdoor base stations is introduced in this section. To
achieve a site specific indoor coverage prediction it is necessary to consider at least the shape and the height of buildings
and - if available - a more detailed building description. A
further reason for the development of a new model is the
request to calculate channel impulse responses in addition to
only path loss predictions; the general approach of radio
channel characterization based on multi-path propagation
modeling is given in [9]. Since the verified IHE-URBANMICRO outdoor model (Sec. 11) enables the determination
of the channel impulse response given by amplitude, delay,
radiation angle and arrival angle, an extension of this model
for considering indoor receiver locations has been regarded as
a practical solution.

A comparison with measurements at 1845 MHz for BS

antenna heights of 14.35 m and 8.5 m are presented in
Fig.8 and Fig.9, respectively.
70
XO

90
1W

3
h

110

-z

120

;;i

130

.c

A.
..................
. . . . .
,
,
,
,
.........................................................................................
.,
.,
.,
.
.
.
. ,. ,.
o

in

20

30

40

50

60

70

RO

YO

i ( x ) 110

120

130

measurement location

Fig. 8

Modeling of Building Penetration

The basic ray tracing algorithms of the outdoor model ZHEURBAN-MICRO have been modified to distinguish between
building penetrating rays and non-penetrating rays as depicted in Fig.10. However, only one penetration process per
Tx-Rx ray is regarded in the new approach. Hence, only that
building which contains Rx is considered as the penetrated
building. Propagation paths are determined in a vertical and

........ .................
..
. ., ......,..............
.
170

Measured and calculated total path loss (1845 MHz,

transmit antenna height ht = 8.50 m)

Measured and calculated total path loss (1 845 MHz,

transmit antenna height ht = 14.35 m)

44

in a transverse propagation plane according to the outdoor

model IHE- URBAN-MICRO. Further paths via building or
ground scattering are considered by 3D ray tracing.

plied to area wide indoor coverage predictions over several

floors. A prediction result for the Diisseldorf exhibition area
(Rx height = 1.5 m) is shown in Fig. 1 1, qualitatively.
Path loss measurements outside and inside the exhibition
center buildings have been performed by the German DCSnetwork operator E-Plus Mobilfunk GmbH. The thereof calculated building penetration loss at 38 locations is compared
to the predicted penetration loss based on the ray optical
models described above, as shown in Fig.12.

V. DISCUSSIONS
The major problem for indoor fieldstrength or path loss prediction is the ignorance of the building construction parameters, like wall thicknesses, wall materials and interior building obstacles, since building data are generally not available
for industrial oriented applications, like professional radio
network planning. Categorization of buildings will help
further to improve penetration loss calculations.

Fig. 10: Ray optical motdeling of building penetration.

Building penetration loss depends on the wall material, construction type, thickness and incidence angle. Thus, buildings have to be represented by closed polygons (vector data),
accurately describing the shape of a building, with height information. Ground topography is considered in pixel format.

Nevertheless it is the authors' opinion that deterministic indoor coverage prediction models are absolutely necessary for
planning purposes by network operators; exclusive large
cost- and time-consuming measurement campaigns are not at
all practicable solutions. However, measurements are
absolutely required for the validation of prediction models.

REFERENCES
T. Kurner et al., "Concepts and results for 3D digital
terrain based wave propagation models - an overview,"
IEEE JSAC, vol. 11, no. 7, pp. 1002-1012
D. J. Cichon, (in German) "Strahlenoptische Modellierung der Wellenausbreitung in urbanen Mikro- und
Pikofunkzellen", Ph.D. Dissertation at the University
of Karlsruhe, 1994, ISSN 0942-2935
D. J. Cichon et al., "Ray optical indoor modeling in
multi-floored buildings: Simulations and measurements," Proc. IEEE AP-S'9.5, USA, 1995, pp. 522-525
D. J. Cichon et al., "Comprehensive ray optical propagation models for indoor and outdoor environments:
Theory and applications," Proc. COMMSPHERE'9.5,
Eilat, Israel, January 1995, pp. 201-208
D. C. Cox et al., "Antenna height dependence of
800MHz attenuation measured in houses," IEEE Trans.
on Veh. Techn., vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 108-115, 1985
J.-E. Berg, "Building penetration loss at 1700 MHz
along LOS street microcells," COST-231 (93)3, 1993
COST 23 1 subgroup Propagation Models, "Building
penetration losses," COST 231 TD(90)116, 1991
M. Feistel, A. Baier, "Performance of a three-dimensional propagation model in urban environments," in
Proc. PIMRC'9.5, Toronto, Canada, 27-29 Sept., 1995
T. Kurner, D. J. Cichon, W. Wiesbeck, "Evaluation and
verification of the VHFRJHF propagation channel based
on a 3D-wave propagation model," accepted for publication in IEEE Trans. on Antennas and Propagation

Fig. 11: Qualitative outdoor and indoor coverage prediction

at the Dusseldorf exhibition area, Germany.
40
h

3g

30

U
0

.-

20

10

5e

-in

5
a
-20
0

10

15

20

25

30

35

measurement location

Fig. 12: Comparison bstween predicted and measured building penetration loss at 1870 MHz.
This new model for indoor coverage prediction by outdoor
base stations is called I.HE-URBAN-MICRO-I. It can be ap-

45